Engineering for People Design Challenge

The award-winning Engineering for People design challenge prepares the engineers of the future to be globally responsible.

This design challenge is integrated into undergraduate courses and allows students to explore the ethical, environmental, social and cultural aspects of engineering design. It also gives them practice using their skills and knowledge to benefit people and planet.

This design challenge is a collaboration between three Engineers Without Borders organisations; South Africa, UK and USA. Students in the UK, Ireland, South Africa and the USA are taking part.

In partnership with:

Engineering for People 2019-20

In an urban area of Johannesburg, South Africa, known as Makers Valley, rapid population growth and economic inequality have caused housing shortages, inconsistent access to electricity and water, food scarcity, and problems with waste collection.

This presents an opportunity to design for the interconnected issues we face globally with changing urban environments and infrastructure.

The people in Makers Valley have collectively begun working toward urban renewal through creative solutions, empowerment, and collaboration to create change within the community. Now, there is excitement around engaging an international audience and exploring the potential of engineering design to meet the needs of people everywhere.

Participating?

Participating in this year’s Engineering for People design challenge?

Enter our online portal for everything you may need including access to the design brief, videos, photos, further resources and a discussion forum.

University guide

How it works

Each year, we work with one of our partners to create a series of engineering briefs based on real-world problems that people in their country are facing.

These briefs span engineering topics including water and sanitation, energy, the built environment, transport, waste management, information communications technology and local industry.

Students at participating universities are asked to design a solution appropriate to the economic, environmental and social context.

The best teams from each of the participating universities are invited to a grand final. They showcase their ideas to their peers, academics, industry representatives and a panel of expert judges and compete to be crowned Engineering for People design challenge winners.

Register your institution

Part of the curriculum

Participating institutions run the Engineering for People Design Challenge as part of the curriculum for first and second year undergraduates, making it a mandatory part of the degree course.

In the UK, the initiative contributes to the Engineering Council requirements for students on accredited degrees to demonstrate understanding of the design process and have a broad awareness of the economic, legal, social, ethical and environmental context of engineering.

An international programme

Since 2011, when it was first launched in the UK in partnership with Engineers Without Borders Australia, the Engineering for People Design Challenge has improved the skills and competencies of over 34,500 undergraduates.

In 2018-19, the Engineering for People Design Challenge ran at 30 universities across the UK and Ireland. In 2019-20 it is also being delivered in South Africa and the USA.

What people say

“The Engineering Professors’ Council is delighted to support Engineers Without Borders UK. It offers lots of fantastic, practical ways for our students to use what they’ve learned and demonstrate the unique career paths that a degree in engineering opens up – solving real, practical problems that make transformational differences to people’s lives.”

Johnny Rich, chief executive, Engineering Professors’ Council

“The Engineering for People Design Challenge provides students with a taste of what it is like to be an engineer, requiring them to make links between the core engineering theory that they have studied and the context in which they will be working. The challenge provides real-life opportunities to design solutions that amongst other things, take account of environmental, social and cultural impacts.”

The Engineering for People Design Challenge was chosen as one of Nesta’s 50 New Radicals in 2016. New Radicals is a search led by Nesta, the UK’s innovation foundation, and the Observer newspaper to find the top people, projects and organisations offering innovative ways to tackle social challenges and make Britain and the wider world better.

“Go back to your universities and your friends who aren’t doing this course and ask them ‘why not?’”

Jon Prichard, chief executive of the Institution for Chemical Engineers and former chief executive, Engineering Council